


Let us meet at the boundary once more

by bratinella



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Character Death, M/M, Noragami AU, Searching and Finding you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-14
Updated: 2014-03-14
Packaged: 2018-01-15 17:09:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1312672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bratinella/pseuds/bratinella
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>I can hear the ocean before me. I can smell the salt and grime it brings to the sand. I can feel the warmth of the sun as it settles to the horizon and the breeze that cools my skin.</i><br/><i>I know I am not supposed to be here now but, when I open my eyes, I see the crimson sky and your bright blue eyes reflecting the world.</i><br/>~~~<br/>Noragami AU! MakoHaru</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let us meet at the boundary once more

**Author's Note:**

> ~Not Beta'd~
> 
> I am so bad at this. But, practice makes better. I know I can do better.
> 
> Though, I want to make a multi-chapter continuation of this but it would depend on the story and my schedule.
> 
>  
> 
> _Disclaimer: No Noragami character is involved in making this story and Mayu-san is not Mako-chan here. It just so happen that they share the name and lingual counterparts._

Twilight.

It is the time where the sky is set ablaze in crimson and the hour where the day is still hanging by a thread of light. People would hide away from the dark in fear and those from the afterlife would come out in rampage. It is the time where they say the barrier between the living and the dead would grow thin and monsters easily cross towards this side.

Yes, right now, it is the Devil's Hour.

 

\---

 

_That time, there was a boy._

_He had this happy disposition and that kind smile that is contagious to everyone around him. He was a gift to his family since he was an obedient and hard working child, and no one hated him._

_However, he had this one fear. The ocean._

_He feared drowning, he feared its depths, he fear its ability to, despite the water's beauty and calmness, drag people away towards the bottom to be never heard again. He feared that if he is far enough from the shore, he would be gone, too._

_And yet, he still came over the shore to watch the sun until it sets. He would lay down a towel by the sand and sit there with his bag and books. Time and time again, he would look over the horizon with a solemn face and a wordless sentiment of his day. Once, he took off his shoes to test the water and his face grew much somber._

"That's dangerous, you know?"  _Came a warning from nearby and the boy jumped in surprise as if electrocuted._ "Do that and you'll find yourself in deep waters." _  
_

_He regarded the new presence, who was crouching beside his towel and poking an innocent crab with a stick, in question._

_"Ah... no." The boy quickly responded and tried to come off with a laugh. "I think my feet is a bit warm so I wanted to cool off before going home."_

_Again with that smile but, right now, it is not as contagious as before. In fact, it sounded off to the other boy who was looking at him as if contemplating on whether to befriend him or to leave him alone. There was silence between them and for quite a while, too, that if felt suffocating._

"It's already late." _The boy gazed back at the horizon, the sun had already set while he wasn't looking, and then to the other boy he was talking to. Though, he could not find him from where he stood. There was only an echo of silence in place of him then a distant ringing of chimes in the air._

_That time, the sky was set ablaze in crimson and that day was still hanging by a thread of light. There were creatures hiding within the shadows cast by the worldly things. Shadows carried those unseen by the naked eye and those unseen would whisper on the ears of men and women. That is why he should not dally any longer._

"Go back home quickly and safely." _  
_

\---

 

The water has always been his temple, his home.

It has never grown too young nor too old for anything and has been in this world since the beginning of time. It has witnessed countless blessings and countless tragedies. The water is always his guiding element and he never part with it.

That place looks good in crimson. It looks nice in blue, too, but red appealed to him more that he could admit.

That place where they first met has always been symbolic; him, who is almost crossing the line between land and sea, and he, who belongs to the sea but stays on land. Given that they are both different from each other and that they are not supposed to meet, fate surely must have a plan for them. Whatever it is in store, they could only watch as it comes...

 

\---

 

_"I knew it! You're really here!"_

_That time, there was a boy._

_A boy who was never seen smiling. He always had this gaze that would make anyone stop in their tracks and stay away from him. He was silent and was considered an odd child, an abnormality of the society._

_And yet, it was as if he never existed._

_Oh, how people are right sometimes and it did not cease to amaze him how this boy who came on running at the first sight of him never noticed._

_"I thought I would find you at the docks but here you are again." That smile was back again. It was as if a new life was breathed to him and he was alight with excitement and a new purpose in life._

"Why are you looking for me?" _He asked, utterly bored and exasperated at this new addition to his daily routine of swimming in the ocean at dusk._

_"Eh? Ah, I thought I would give you this." The other shuffled quickly through his things and produced a gift from within._

"Swimming goggles?"

_"Yep! I always see you swimming here everyday during sunset without one so I thought you might need it. Salt water gets pretty irritating on the eyes, you know." His eyes lit in sincerity and the silent boy was overwhelmed. He was never given and accepted a gift personally before. What's more, the gift was from someone he did not know nor did not knew their name. What kind of situation is this?_

_He looked up at him, unsure if he should accept it just as is, but that happy smile made him think all over again and held the item close to his chest._

"I...see." _Just then, he could feel the corner of his mouth twitched and mouthed a small word of gratitude which made the other smile all the more._  "Next time..."

_"Hm?"_

"I'll teach you how to swim the ocean next time."

_A promise made with all honesty and determination is a promise that should be well kept. It gave hope to those who expected them in reality and the boy gladly hung on to it._

 

\---

 

..and goes.

 

\---

 

 

_That day never came._

_The sky raged with crimson, a testimony to a life wasted and the sadness which comes with it._

_This time, a young boy was taken too soon from the world. A young boy. supposed to be full of smiles and renewed hope, was found floating in the nearby fishing docks. There was no sign of foul play nor struggle according to investigations but the news was a shock. Especially to the relatives._

_Why him? Why now?!_

_He could hear them scream as they cry over the ashes, a picture laid in the middle of the altar of flowers and memorabilia of him. No one ever noticed his presence there, not that they should notice him, but he stood by the back of the crowd, stunned._

_He supposed it was normal for him to feel numb over a necrology. After all, people come and go before him in a blink of an eye for almost forever. He was not supposed to feel devastated nor surprised. He was not supposed to... but..._

_He held the goggles given to him tight and formed an oath._

_Next time, he would make sure to teach him how to and swim with him in the ocean he once feared._

 

 

\---

 

The boundary is starting to thin once more.

Red creeps over the nooks and crannies of the city as if painting it with the color of fire. It is eerie for those who pays attention to their surroundings. The sun sets over the horizon, submerging the world in darkness as it enters the hour of the shadows. Many in this world fear the dark and hide away from it while those from the other world become one with the darkness and grows deeper.

And soon, the Devil's Hour has come.

 

\---

 

In the walk way along the beach, there is signage placed there. It is a warning to those who would attempt to swim since that part is known to dip dangerously low and drowning would be imminent.

Below that signage's is a single bloom of flower.

Its petals were shaded green and its bloom imitates that of a hydrangea. It is as if the flower is leaning by the foot of the signage and watching the orange hue of the sea.

_"There you are."_

The wind begins to blow, a man stood next to the bloom and gazed at the sea as well. Blue eyes washed with the color of the hour glanced knowingly down and regarded the flower, as if it is a person.

_"I told you to go back home quickly and safely, right? Were you listening to me?"_

There is silence between them and the man hold his hand out, an ethereal glow starting to form at his fingertips which turn to a blinding light. Its target is starting to respond. The petals soon begins to vibrate, glowing as well, as it receives vital energy from the man and then, it changes. As he paints a symbol in the air, a small ball of light emerges from the flower and is granted life.

_You, who have nowhere to go and nowhere to return to,_

_I grant you a place to belong._

_My name is Haruka._

_You shall remain here, bearing a posthumous name._

_With this name I make thee my servant._

_With this name and its alternate,_

_I use my life to make thee a Regalia!_

 

Again, the memories of a kind smile and honest peridots came back to him.

 

 _Thou art_ Makoto _!_

 _As Regalia,_ Shin _!_

 

 _Come,_ Shinki _!_

 

\---

 

Entry # 21

_I met this boy at the beach. I was totally surprised since I never heard or noticed him coming! But, ah, he had such nice eyes and they are so blue that I was not afraid of swimming. I hope I could see him again. - M.T._

 

Entry # 29

_I hate it. I hate it when people talk behind my back. I don't want to cause them problems but I don't know what to do anymore. Maybe, I'm a bad friend. I wonder if he would consider me a friend. - M.T._

 

 

Entry # 31

_He is there at the beach again! I'm so glad! I kept on seeing him swimming there but when I go near, he would be gone! Maybe, he swims fast... But! I finally gave him a proper goggle. I know salt water stings and he is always swimming so... Ah, the most important thing is I finally made him smile! Though, a small one but still a smile! Then, he promised to teach me how to swim! I'm so happy! Then again, I should ask for his name next time. Yep! He is definitely my friend now! - M.T._

 

Entry # 48

_He is not around much anymore. Maybe, something came up. I hope I did not do anything wrong. - M.T._

 

Entry # 49

_I will go down the beach again after this. I want to see if he is back yet. I miss him. If not, I'll try and swim as much as I can so I won't look lousy in front of him. Then, we can go have fun in the ocean and reach places we have not reached before. Ah, I want to swim with him soon!- M.T._

 

Entry # 50

_Blank Page_

**Author's Note:**

> Entry # 51
> 
> Haruka gave me box full of notebooks a month after I became his Regalia. Suffice to say that I am sad. I missed my life. I missed my parents, my siblings, that cat near the shrine, my school, and the old swimming club. Everything with the memories of me passed and were gone. It means I have been away for so long. It's a little lonely but I have nothing to fear. Haruka is here with me after all and I now remember his promise to me. I better ask him about that later. Right now, I am very glad and blessed to have been given a second chance. I won't waste it for anything! - Makoto
> 
> -fin-


End file.
